[Salvation]

Litany of the Saints

 

This litany is the oldest litany continually in use. It was used if not by Pope Liberius certainly by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the "Litania Septiformis" at Rome and in the procession of St. Mamertus at Vienna. This litany forms one of our oldest liturgical offices in the West, and is the model for all others.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us

Holy Mary,
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
St. Michael,
St. Gabriel,
St. Raphael,
All you holy Angels and Archangels,
All you holy orders of blessed Spirits,
St. John the Baptist,
St. Joseph,
All you holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
St. Peter,
St. Paul,
St. Andrew,
St. James,
St. John,
St. Thomas,
St. James,
St. Philip,
St. Bartholomew,
St. Matthew,
St. Simon,
St. Thaddeus,
St. Matthias,
St. Barnabas,
St. Luke,
St. Mark,
All you holy Apostles and Evangelists,
All you holy Disciples of the Lord,
All you holy Innocents,
St. Stephen,
St. Lawrence,
St. Vincent,
Sts. Fabian and Sebastian,
Sts. John and Paul,
Sts. Cosmas and Damian,
Sts. Gervase and Protase,
All you holy Martyrs,
St. Sylvester,
St. Gregory,
St. Ambrose,
St. Augustine,
St. Jerome,
St. Martin,
St. Nicholas,
All you holy Bishops and Confessors,
All you holy Doctors,
St. Anthony,
St. Benedict,
St. Bernard,
St. Dominic,
St. Francis,
All you holy Priests and Levites,
All you holy Monks and Hermits,
St. Mary Magdalen,
St. Agatha,
St. Lucy,
St. Agnes,
St. Cecilia,
St. Catherine,
St. Anastasia,
All you holy Virgins and Widows,
All you Holy Men and Women, Saints of God, make intercession for us.

Be merciful, spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Response: O Lord, deliver us

From all evil,
From all sin,
From your wrath,
From sudden and unprovided death,
From the snares of the devil,
From anger, and hatred, and all ill-will,
From the spirit of fornication,.
From lightning and tempest,
From the scourge of earthquake,
From plague, famine, and war,
From everlasting death,
Through the mystery of your holy Incarnation,
Through your Coming,
Through your Nativity,
Through your Baptism and holy Fasting,
Through your Cross and Passion,
Through your Death and Burial,
Through your holy Resurrection,
Through your admirable Ascension,
Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
In the day of judgment,

Response: We beseech you, hear us

We sinners,
That you would spare us,
That you would pardon us,
That you would bring us to true penance,
That you would deign to govern and preserve your holy Church,
That you would deign to preserve our Apostolic Prelate, and all orders of the Church in holy religion,
That you would deign to humble the enemies of Holy Church,
That you would deign to give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes,
That you would deign to grant peace and unity to all Christian people,
That you would deign to call back to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth and lead all unbelievers to the light of the Gospel,
That you would deign to confirm and preserve us in your holy service,
That you would lift up our minds to heavenly desires,
That you would render eternal blessings to all our benefactors,
That you would deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren, relations and benefactors, from eternal damnation,
That you would deign to give and preserve the fruits of the earth,
That you would deign to grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,
That you would deign graciously hear us,
Son of God,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Our Father, etc. (inaudibly).

V. And lead us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.

 

Psalm 69:
Deign, O Lord, to rescue me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let them be put to shame and confounded who seek my life.
Let them be turned back in disgrace who desire my ruin.
Let them retire in their shame who say to me, "Aha, aha!"
But may all who seek you exult and be glad in you, and may those who love your salvation say ever, "God be glorified!"

But I am afflicted and poor; O God, hasten to me!
You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, hold not back!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

V. Save your servants.
R. Who trust in you, O my God.

V. Be a tower of strength for us, O Lord,
R. Against the attack of the enemy.

V. Let not the enemy prevail against us.
R. And let not the son of evil dare to harm us.

V. Lord, deal not with us according to our sins.
R. Neither requite us according to our iniquities.

V. Let us pray for our Sovereign Pontiff, Pope John Paul II.
R. The Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

V. Let us pray for our benefactors.
R. Deign, O Lord, for Your name’s sake, to reward with eternal life all those who do us good. Amen.

V. Let us pray for the faithful departed.
R. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.

V. For our absent brethren.
R. Save your servants, who trust in you, my God.

V. Send them help, O Lord, from your sanctuary.
R. And sustain them from Zion.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to you.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

Let us pray:
O God, whose property is always to have mercy and to spare, receive our petition, that we, and all your servants who are bound by the chains of sin, may, by the compassion of your goodness, be mercifully absolved.
   
Graciously hear, we beg you, O Lord, the prayers of your suppliants, and pardon the sins of those who confess to you, that in your bounty you may grant us both pardon and peace.

In your clemency, O Lord, show us your ineffable mercy, that you may both free us from all our sins, and deliver us from the punishments which we deserve for them.

God, who by sin are offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of your suppliant people, and turn away the scourges of your anger, which we deserve for our sins.

Almighty, everlasting God, have mercy upon your servant N., our Sovereign Pontiff, and direct him according to your clemency into the way of everlasting salvation, that by your grace he may desire those things that are pleasing to you, and perform them with all his strength.

O God, from whom are holy desires, good counsels, and just works, give to your servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts be set to keep your commandments, and that, being removed from the fear of our enemies, we may pass our time in peace under your protection.

Burn our desires and our hearts with the fire of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, that we may serve you with a chaste body, and with a clean heart be pleasing to you.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of your servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that, through devout prayers, they may obtain the pardon which they always desired.

Direct, we beg you, O Lord, our actions by your holy inspirations, and carry them on by your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may begin always with you, and through you be happily ended.

Almighty and everlasting God, you have dominion over the living and the dead, and you are merciful to all who you foreknow will be yours by faith and good works; we humbly beg you that those for whom we intend to pour forth our prayers, whether this present world still detain them in the flesh, or the world to come has already received them our of their bodies, may through the intercession of all your Saints, by the clemency of your goodness, obtain the remission of all their sins. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to you.

V. May the almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear us.
R. Amen.

V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

[Salvation]

From: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14


The Great Multitude of the Saved

---

[2] Then I (John) saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun,
with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to
the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
[3] saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we
have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads." [4] And I
heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand
sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.


[9] After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man
could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, with palm branches in their hands, [10] and crying out
with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the
throne, and to the Lamb!" [11] And all the angels stood round the
throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they
fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, [12] saying,
"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and
power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen."


[13] Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these,
clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?" [14] I said to him,
"Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out
of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb."

---

Commentary:


1-17. This chapter consists of two visions designed to illustrate God's
protection of Christians and the happy circumstances of the martyrs.
The victory of the Church is depicted--of the entire Church, made up of
people from the four points of the compass (vv. 9-12). What is not so
clear, however, is who the one hundred and fort four thousand are,
drawn from the twelve tribes of Israel, whom an angel has marked with
the seal of the living God (vv. 1-8). Some commentators interpret them
as all being Christians of Jewish background (Judaeo-Christians).
Others say that they are those who make up the new Israel which St Paul
speaks about in Galatians 6:17; that is, all the baptized viewed first
as still engaged in their battle (vv. 1-8) and then after they have won
victory (vv. 9-17). The most plausible interpretation is that the one
hundred and forty four thousand stand for the Jews converted to
Christianity (as distinct from those not converted)--the 'remnant of
Israel' (cf. Is 4:2-4; Ezek 9; etc.). St Paul says that they prove the
irrevocable nature of God's election (cf. Rom 1l:1-5) and are the
first-fruits of the restoration which will come about at the End (cf.
Rom 11:25-32).


The hundred and forty-four thousand are included in the second vision;
they would be part of the great multitude "from all tribes and people
and tongues". Thus, the vision in vv. 9-17 takes in the entire Church
without any distinctions, whereas the vision in vv. 1-8 can refer only
to a part of the Church--those Jews who, by becoming Christians, made
up the original nucleus of the Church. The Church admits these on the
same basis as all those who become Christians later without having had
to pass through any stage of Jewish observance.


1-8. In Jewish tradition angels were divided into two groups--angels of
the Presence and sanctification, and those charged with controlling the
forces of nature. Both kinds appear in this passage.


According to the custom of the time, when something bore the mark of a
seal or brand that meant that it belonged to the seal's owner. This
passage is saying that the one hundred and forty four thousand belong
to God and therefore will be protected by him as his property. This
fulfills what Ezekiel prophesied about the inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf.
Ezek 9:1-7): some would be sealed on the forehead with a tax (the last
letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and would therefore escape the
punishment to be inflicted on all the rest: this shows the special way
God makes provision for those who are his not only because he created
them but also by a new title.


The Fathers of the Church saw this mark as symbolizing the character
Baptism impresses on the souls of the faithful to show that they are
destined for eternal life. Thus, the persons preserved from harm are
the Jews who were converts to Christianity: their Baptism marked them
out from those Jews who rejected Christ and were not baptized.


The list of tribes is somewhat different from the usual list which
keeps the order of Genesis 29. The name of Judah is put first because
the Messiah came from that tribe, as St John recently mentioned (cf.
5:5); and there is no mention of the tribe of Dan, presumably because
it fell into idolatry (cf. Judg 17-18) and eventually disappeared. To
make up the tally of twelve the tribe of Joseph is mentioned twice--as
that of Joseph and as that of Manasseh, his first-born.


The number of those sealed (12 x 12 x 1000) symbolizes completeness,
totality--in this instance, a huge multitude, depicted as the new
Israel. Included in this number are the descendants of Jacob who
receive Baptism, irrespective of when they do. Obviously this number is
not meant to be taken literally, as if only one hundred and forty-four
thousand people will attain salvation. In this scene all those of
Gentile background who become Christians over the course of history are
explicitly not included. They will appear in the vision which follows.


9-17. Pope John Paul II has commented on this passage as follows: "The
people dressed in white robes whom John sees with his prophetic eye are
the redeemed, and they form a 'great multitude', which no one could
count and which is made up of people of the most varied backgrounds.
The blood of the Lamb, who has been offered in sacrifice for all, has
exercised its universal and most effective redemptive power in every
corner of the earth, extending grace and salvation to that 'great
multitude'. After undergoing the trials and being purified in the blood
of Christ, they--the redeemed--are now safe in the Kingdom of God, whom
they praise and bless for ever and ever" ("Homily", 1 November 1981).
This great crowd includes all the saved and not just the martyrs, for
it says that they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, not in
their own blood.


Everyone has to become associated with Christ's passion through
suffering, as St Augustine explains, not without a certain humor: "Many
are martyrs in their beds. The Christian is lying on his couch,
tormented by pain. He prays and his prayers are not heard, or perhaps
they are heard but he is being put to the test...so that he may be
received as a son. He becomes a martyr through illness and is crowned
by him who hung upon the Cross" ("Sermon" 286, 8).


"It is consoling and encouraging to know that those who attain heaven
constitute a huge multitude. The passages of Matthew 7:14 and Luke 13:
24 which seem to imply that very few will be saved should be
interpreted in the light of this vision, which shows that the infinite
value of Christ's blood makes God's will be done: "(God) desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4).


In vv 14-17 we see the blessed in two different situations--first,
before the resurrection of the body (v. 14) and, then, after it, when
body and soul have been reunited (vv. 15-17). In this second situation
the nature of risen bodies is highlighted: they cannot suffer pain or
inconvenience of any kind: they are out of harm's reach; they have the
gift of "impassibility" (cf. "St Pius V Catechism", I, 12, 13).


This consoling scene is included in the vision to encourage believers
to imitate those Christians who were like us and now find themselves
in heaven because they have come through victorious. The Church invites
us to pray along similar lines: "Father, you sanctified the Church of
Rome with the blood of its first martyrs. May we find strength from
their courage and rejoice in their triumph" ("Roman Missal", Feast of
the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, opening prayer).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.